Proteas transformation: Walter admits system needs work, with one black African in World Cup squad

Though he insists he’ll solely decide gamers on advantage for a World Cup event, nationwide restricted overs coach Rob Walter admits one thing needs to be achieved to develop and supply alternatives for black cricketers in South Africa.

Announcing the 15-man Proteas squad on Tuesday for the T20 World Cup in The United States and the West Indies in June, Walter revealed that solely one black African participant – quick bowler Kagiso Rabada – had been chosen.

And whereas the squad additionally included six different gamers of color, the choice didn’t come wherever near matching the demographics of the nation, which has a inhabitants of greater than 80% black African folks.

“My number one imperative is to create a winning Proteas team. In order to do that, every time I pick a side I’ve got to pick the best team at the time that will give us a chance of doing that,” mentioned Walter, who was given full management in choosing the squad.

Previous World Cups

At the earlier version of the T20 World Cup, held in Australia in 2022, the SA squad included three black African gamers – Temba Bavuma, Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada – in addition to 4 different gamers of color.

At final yr’s 50-over World Cup in India, the squad (additionally chosen by Walter) featured 4 black African gamers – Bavuma, Ngidi, Rabada and Andile Phehlukwayo – and 4 different gamers of color.

With the numbers of black Africans dropping for the upcoming version of the worldwide showpiece in the brief format, Walter acknowledged that one thing wanted to be achieved to stop this from taking place once more.

Better system wanted

“The system really needs to up the ante so that in six months, 12 months or two years time – and in particular when we reach the 2027 World Cup at home – the demographics and the representation in our team looks a bit different,” Walter mentioned.

“So outside of the World Cup we’ll continue to use our bilateral series to do exactly that, to grow our base of players and create international opportunities for players to pit their skills at a higher level, and just make sure we have bought in and are delivering on a process that’s going to change what our team looks like as we move forward.”